Our raised bed vegetable gardens are growing! As many of you know, last fall, we relocated our kitchen garden to make room for the new patio. We made two raised beds using this tutorial. Even though they are small, they hold more than 30 plants. It brings me so much joy to spend time out here tending the garden! There’s something new to see every day! Scroll down to read all about it.
The large bed in the back is 4×8. It holds twelve tomato plants (three varieties), twelve pepper plants (three varieties), basil, cilantro, and Swiss chard.
The tomatoes are supported using the Florida weave. We saw this technique used all over the Amalfi Coast, so I’m not sure how it got that name, haha! The bamboo came from the woods behind Mom’s house.
The jalapeños have taken off! It’s only a matter of time before we will use them to make jalapeño poppers.
The sweet banana peppers were the first to grow. Aside from eating them right off the plant, we’ve been using them in salads. I also plan to pickle a few.
The Swiss chard is ready to eat! I planted the seed a few weeks apart so that we would have a steady supply. I’m planning to use the first crop for dinner this week.
The smaller 4×4 bed is my experimental bed. I’m trying something new this year! Have you heard of the three sisters? Native Americans grew corn, beans, and squash together long before Europeans came to the new world. In traditional lore, the plants were a gift from the gods, always to be grown, eaten, and celebrated together. The corn stalks support the beans. The beans pull nitrogen from the air, which benefits all three. The squash’s prickly leaves help to fend off critters. Well, in theory – we recently discovered a bunny nest in this garden.
I’ll be surprised if we get any corn from these plants, but it’s been fun watching them grow. Corn can grow as much as 6″ in a day!
A FEW GARDENING TIPS
Peppers prefer low-nitrogen fertilizer, high-phosphorus fertilizer. I like this one (affiliate link). Too much nitrogen will reduce fruit. After the first fruit set, sprinkle 1 tablespoon Epsom salt around the base of each plant. Mulch to conserve moisture.
Side-dress tomatoes every two weeks starting when tomatoes are about an inch in diameter. I use this one (affiliate link). Water in the morning and avoid getting the foliage wet. Mulch to conserve moisture.
When the first blooms appear on squash, side-dress with a balanced fertilizer. Mulch to conserve moisture.
